ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

Maersk Line
Analysing HR Practices of an Organisation

By: Sanika Sharma

25th September 202


!1
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

About The Organisation

A.P. MOLLER MAERSK LINE 




Maersk Line is a Danish International container shipping company, it is the
world’s No.1 shipping company by both fleet size and cargo capacity. It is spread
across 374 ports in 116 countries. The company was founded in 1928 by AP
Moller who inherited his father’s company and changed the name of the
company and during the initial stages, he expanded it to Denmark, England,
Germany and Russia. The logo of the company has a beautiful story behind it,
AP Moller’s mother was chronically ill and his father made a wish to a star, and
his wife started feeling better and later she survived. Inspired by this, the logo of
the company is a seven-pointed star in the blue background depicting the sky.



!2
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

Core Values of The Company: 




Constant Care

It suggests forward thinking, planning and execution. Being informed,
innovative and seeking new idea and looking for changes in the
environment.The motto is to take care of today and actively prepare for the
future. 

Humbleness

This suggests principles like listening, learning and giving space to others.
It means showing trust and giving empowerment and having an attitude of
continuous learning and never underestimating other competitors and
stakeholders. 

Uprightness 

It means honesty and accountability, openness about the good and bad.
Speaking your mind in the debate but backing the decision, is also a core value
of the company. 

Our Employees

Creating a motivating, diverse and inclusive environment for the
employees where they enjoy working and having fun together. 


The human resource management plays a pivotal role in smooth

functioning of an organisation, it can be defined as the process of acquiring,
training, appraising and compensating employees and of attending to their
labor relations, health, safety and fairness concerns (Dessler, 2020). At Maersk, 

Maria Pejter and Bill Allen ( Head of Human Resource Department) work in
order to align the organisation’s vision with it’s core values. The present
assignment focuses on the following HR function of Maersk Line:

Recruitment, Testing & Selection, Training, Performance Appraisal and
Diversity & Inclusion. 


!3
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE



Recruitment

It is the process of seeking sources for job candidates ( Robbins &
DeCenzo, 2016). This process enables the organisation to attract employees. 

At Maersk, they initially focused more on internal recruitment over external
recruitment because the culture of the organisation was to create a family-like
environment ( Maersk, 2009) they promoted their own talent to save on training
costs, and to promote a homely environment. But over time, due to frequent
performance appraisals, it was realised that the overall performance was
decreasing and even the family-like environment within the organisation was
also disintegrating because of lack of motivation, groupthink ( family-like
organisational culture induces the employee to care about others and not to go
against their opinion therefore promoting Groupthink ), also employees would
leave for other organisations because they were already trained in a reputed
company and therefore they were great hires. Furthermore, its also created
higher employee turnover ratio ( percentage of employees that leave the
organisation over a period of time). Out of 400 trainees hired every year, only
20% would stay over next 5 years (Maersk, 2010). 

With this realisation and statistics, the company started opting for external
recruitment with greater sincerity as compared to before. The external
candidates could bring in new and creative ideas. In addition to this, they would
be more motivated and energised for working in a new organisation. This did
cost more time and money as compared to internal recruitment, but Maersk
Line was willing to spend extra time, money and effort in exchange of higher
performance and motivation. 

Maersk usually hires untrained employees who are just starting out, they
shape them according to their culture and practices. Hence, they bring in fresh
talent and perform college/campus recruitments, it is usual at Maersk that
people celebrate their 30-40 year anniversary with the organisation ( Maersk,

!4
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

2019). 



Employee Testing and Selection

The difference between recruitment and selection is that, recruitment is
majorly about attracting potential candidates. While, selection involves choosing
and picking from probable hires. It is usually done by higher level employees. 

Maersk is interested in selecting employees that match their core values, they
believe they can always train and work on the skills of an employee if they’re a
match with respect to their personality and attitude. 

After receiving curriculum vitae, cover letters and relevant certificates,
Online Assessments take place within 0-4 weeks. They perform 2 psychometric
tests with sound psychometric properties- Big Five Factor Inventory and
Cognitive Learning Indicator- Predictive Index Learning Indicator ( PI-LI). In
addition to this, they measure EQ as well (Maersk, 2017). 



Big Five Factor Inventory: This test is employed to understand the
personality of an individual, this test measures the following traits- Extraversion,
Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. Maersk values
employees who score high on Conscientiousness ( because they want their
employees to be morally and ethically appropriate, matches with their core value
uprightness) and Openness ( refers to be open-minded and listening to others’
perspective, as it matches with humbleness) as it aligns with their core values. 

Predictive Index Learning Indicator: This test measures the ability
to adapt and to handle complexity and it indicates how fast an individual can be
expected to acquire new knowledge. Higher the score, higher are the chances of
selection at Maersk. 

Both these tests are culture fair and can be used globally. 






!5
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

After psychometric testing, two-interviews are scheduled with the potential

employee. The first interview is with an employer who focuses on the employee
as a person, their attitude, ambitions and motivation. The second interview is
with the HR and technical experts, here the focus is on the present skills
acquired by the potential employee with respect to the job their applying for. 

The interviews are either conducted online ( on Skype) or in-person. 



Post interviews, if the candidate is selected they receive a job offer. If qualified
and not selected for the position they applied for, they may assess the candidate
for a vacant position ( Maersk, 2017)


The entire testing and selection process suggest that Maersk values candidates
who match with their values, they repeatedly try to measure the personal
variables of an individual. This is because the actual off-shore job involves
dealing and living with people all throughout 6 months hence, more than
technical skills, personal variables become crucial in smooth functioning of the
ship. This further goes on to suggest that Maersk highly emphasises on it’s core
values and the entire organisation revolves around these values which also sets a
standard for the recruitment and selection globally. 



Their recruitment and selection process is geocentric which means their
recruitment process does not depend on the culture, ethnicity or nationality.
This approach is useful because this way they are able to use human resources
more efficiently. Since it’s a global organisation, it can employ from different
countries and set up their base in other countries as well, which can lead
towards expansion of Maersk. Therefore, a geocentric approach is
advantageous to the organisation. Although, there are a number of criticisms of
Maersk for following this approach. Firstly, they are not implementing this
properly top 10 directors of the company are from the parent national company

!6
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

i.e., Denmark, and because of this the company might not be able to take a
balanced decisions for the entire organisation. It also goes on to suggest that
they prefer their parent national employees for top positions. This could mean
that they half-heartedly believe in the geocentric approach and do not stand up
for their values. In addition to this, Maersk hires it’s labor from third world
countries it’s less expensive. They hire technical employees, who actually provide
service to the company from third world countries and top management which
suggest discrepancy between theoretical HR and it’s actual application.
However, their selection process involving psychological testing and
extensive interviews are widely renowned internationally. Their selection process
is considered to be the gold standard. In my opinion, the process of
understanding the employee’s individual characteristics to make it sure it aligns
with the company’s core values is a genius move, because I do believe that
technical skills can be learnt if they have the basic aptitude for the job ( which
they measure in the cognitive tests mentioned above) but re-learning socio-
emotional skills and cultural adaptability can be difficult in adult life. 



Training and Development 

It is the process of teaching new or current employees the basic needs
they need to perform their jobs ( Dessler, 2020 ). Training is usually done for
fresh or new entrants of the company. Whereas training for experienced
employees of the company is called development. As mentioned above, Maersk
focuses more on recruiting fresh employees straight out of college. They believe
they can train, shape and mould the employee according to their company
practice. Hence, training becomes especially crucial for Maersk Line. 

Maersk Line’s training is highly robust and extensive. Until a few years
back, Maersk had a training programme called MISE, they used to send their
employees to different countries for 2 years either for additional educational
training or for on-the-job training (Maersk, 2010). This way the the employee

!7
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

would learn by seeing others work in their natural work environment rather
than just text-book training. They were also given classroom and simulation
based training for technical jobs. This programme was also available for
experienced employees in the company who want further educational degrees or
fresh entrants who need additional degrees, they provided management degrees
from Harvard and Wharton business schools. 

Initially, this programme yielded good results because the employees
stayed long-term in the company and usually Maersk employees stay for a long
period of time due to the family-like culture inculcated in the company, hence, it
was considered to be an investment. This programme however, was
discontinued after 2017 ( Maersk Line, 2017). This was done because
programme was expensive and employee attrition rates ( rate at which
employees leave the company) were increasing because after some experience in
the company, other companies competing with Maersk Line attracted their
employees because of the way they were trained.

Again, since Maersk Line is an international company employees across
the globe and cultures interact with each other, to enable healthy
communication and relationships and reduce conflicts, they launched a Cross-
Cultural Training Programme. By offering staff cross-cultural training, they
company aimed at minimising stress, frustration, failed assignments, poor
retention rates and low morale that can result when people take on overseas
assignments without proper training

Maersk is a shipping company and to manage the shipping component
(on-shore jobs), deck jobs (off-shore jobs) are also offered. For smooth
functioning of the company, there should be harmony between these two job
types because communication between the two is extremely crucial for the
functioning of the company. Hence, HR’s job is also to train the two
departments to smoothly co-exist and function together. Also, since it is a
company at the global level and there are constant changes in technology.

!8
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

Therefore, they have to keep up with the continuous changes across the world
and they keep training their employees. 

To achieve this, they launched an integration programme. They
integrated the interaction between top leadership ( managers on higher positions
who oversee the operations), CRM ( crew resource management, off-shore
employees) and technical side ( on-shore employees). The Maersk Training
integrated operations concept tries to train these three departments of the
company with the help of Training ( Focus on building competency, increasing
skills, knowledge and behaviour), Assessment ( Technical and non technical
competency test and assurance ) and Consulting ( On- and offshore support to
improve safety and operational performance) ( Maersk, 2018). 




Also, since it is a company at the global level and there are constant changes in
technology. Therefore, they have to keep up with the continuous changes across
the world and they keep training their employees eg- simulator based training
for any new softwares that the company is using.

Therefore, from the above discussion it can be noted that they have an

!9
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

extensive training programme in place. They have training for every possible
domain needed, and the training programme is effective ( will be discussed later
by an employee’s perspective). Thus, the training programme is holistic. One of
the criticisms of the programme is that they don’t focus enough on technical
skills as they do for other domains, since they learn more on the job. Due to the
lack of uniform technical training programme in place, there is performance
discrepancies with respect to technical work. This was one of the limitations of
their training programme. All an all, their training is appreciated globally. 



Performance Appraisal 

It is the process of evaluating an employee’s current and/or past
performance relative to his or her performance standards ( Dessler, 2020).
Appraisal can be on the basis of an employee’s performance standard or a set
performance standard of the company. There are multiple methods for
performance appraisal, but Maersk Line essentially employs MBO
( Management by Objectives ) performance appraisal. In this method where
managers and employees together identify, plan, organise and communicate
objectives to focus on during a specific appraisal period. SMART method is
used to see if the set goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and
time-sensitive. 

In the appraisal method, firstly, each employee is assigned a set of
objectives in accordance to the company objectives. Then, the departmental
goals are assigned to different departments working in the company, then these
goals are discussed with the employees and they get to know what is expected
from them, which defines their individual goals. The progress of an individual is
then evaluated throughout the year. The evaluation is done half-yearly. The
appraisal from has two sides: Employee Development Report-1 (EDR-1) and
Employee Development Report-2 ( EDR-2). 

In EDR-1, employees set their own objectives for the year and develop

!10
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

key performance indicators (KPIs) and complete their targets accordingly.

EDR-2 the team head or the department head evaluates the employee based on
significant performances and limitations of the employee. This is largely a
qualitative assessment of the employee, in addition to feedback on technical
skills, they are also given feedback about their behaviours such as-
communication, cultural sensitivity, compliance and interaction with colleagues.
Results obtained by this appraisal method becomes a base for rewards,
incentives or punishment for an employee. 



Diversity and Inclusion

Maersk Line believes that “Diversity of thought is end game and
demographic diversity is the lead indicator”. They suggest that their
employment practices do not discriminate on the basis of class, caste, race,
ethnicity, gender or nationality. This way they try to cover demographic diversity
in their organisation. By training and development, they try to sensitise the
employees and try to inculcate diversity and inclusion in the mindset of the
employees through various company policies. After 2020, inclusion has become
more important for global companies due to event like Black Life Matters
movement, continuous focus on #metoo movement and LGBTQI+ movement,
they started conversations with top level leaders with virtual sessions focused on
race discrimination, providing them with a framework to support discussions
within their teams (Maersk, 2020). They have a whistleblower system in place to
provide a safe space for grievances or concerns about sensitive issues such as
harassment. 

In 2021, Maersk will be carrying out it’s first Global Inclusion Survey to
increase it’s understanding on harassment, discrimination, prejudice, diversity
and inclusion. The results will be used to further devise interventions and
policies for the company. They’ve also worked on creating awareness of

!11
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

unconscious bias and related effects, for this they arranged workshops by trained
psychologists.







Maersk Line arranged virtual global webinars to understand LGBTQI+ to raise
awareness for racial discrimination and ways to reduce it. They also believe that
symbolic representation and statements can help create awareness on a global
level about fundamental rights. Hence, they painted one of their containers in
pride colours to send out a message about what they believe in. 





An Employee’s Perspective

While studying HRM I always felt that there was a gap in theory and
applications of the principles. I wanted to evaluate this organisation from the
theoretical standpoint as well through an employee’s lens to understand if any
gaps exist. My father worked at Maersk Line for 14 years and provided some
important insights about the companies HR practices. 








!12
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE



Name of the employee: Mr. Shyam Sunder

Educational Qualification: Bachelor of Engineering, DMET ( Directorate of
Marine Engineering and Training, Kolkata 

Position: Chief Engineer ( on-shore job ) 





Recruitment and Selection

When my father applied for the job at Maersk, he was already a chief
engineer which is the highest level of engineering position available in merchant
navy. So he already had years of experience at his job at various other
international companies. He received a phone call from Maersk’s Indian office
about the recruitment process ( maybe it was an internal referral or the
company was looking for new employees, he wasn’t informed about who
suggested him for the position ). He applied for the job and his CV was
accepted, and he was called to Singapore for his interview ( which I, personally
believe was a waste of company’s financial resources because he could’ve had an
interview in the Indian office in Mumbai if it couldn’t be done online back in
2004 when the internet was not common ), his psychometric testing was done

!13
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

and only the first interview was conducted with the manager to see if he was a
match personality wise, the technical interview was not conducted ( maybe
because of his past experience at work ). After 2 days, he received the job offer. 



Training

He was trained in Hong Kong for about one to two months, he was given
on-the job training ( for technical skills) and was trained in the classroom setting
how to deal with cultural differences etc. Since, he was the highest authority at
the ship, he was also trained how to carry out performance appraisals and other
administrative works. For all the years he worked there, almost after every 2
years they arranged a conference or development programmes in different parts
of the country eg- Copenhagen, Manilla etc. they were either about technical
skills and also about new changes in the social policies. Therefore, they
constantly updated their staff and constantly worked towards bettering
themselves. 

They also launch sustainability programs to reduce their carbon footprints and
become more eco-friendly with their approach. 



Job Environment

What I gathered after interacting with him was for on-shore employees
the environment of the ship varies however uniform the higher level managers
try to make it. Although, the training provided to them is useful in order to
navigate through the cross-cultural environment. Since, the employees of any
ship keeps changing after every 3 months and there are a new set of employees,
ice-breaker sessions and getting-to- know each other activities become very
crucial. My father told me, he and the captain of the ship arrange movie nights
every week and sports competitions such as table tennis and swimming. Some of
the pictures are attached below suggesting the environment created by all the
employees. This suggests that job environment is what the employees mould it to

!14
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

be which can be attributed to training. The effectiveness of the training

programmes can be evaluated by the performance level of the employees, and if
there is grievances and the performance is increasing. 



The pictures below are from a table tennis competition, dart game and carrom
( friendly match ), there are four teams: Tigers, Red Lions, Chicken Curry and
Chappati Warrior, the winners were ‘Chappati Warriors’. The scores are
represented in the in the background.


!15
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE

!16
ANALYSING HR PRACTICES: MAERSK LINE



The following pictures represent multicultural Holi celebrations, colour
prepared from wheat flour and turmeric powder.

After asking him details about his experience at Maersk, I did not find a lot of
gaps with the literature provided by their official website. As explained from the
employee’s perspective, it was similar to what they’ve implemented, this contrast
was done from an external employee with years of experience. This suggests
that the company’s execution and implementation ( which is also HR’s job) is
done properly. 



The information presented in the assignment was from their official website and
my father’s experience of working for 14 years in the company. I have tried to
incorporate my view of their HR policies as well. 



Thank you!

!17